Thumbuddy, Thumbuddy, Oh, What You Do! written by Mark Arens and illustrated by Kelly Frankenberg, is the fourth board book in the ThumbPeople series.In the story, the reader follows a parent and child through the day. The Thumbuddy mother uses motivating, loving phrases such as, "Thumbuddy, Thumbuddy, one of a kind! Thumbuddy, Thumbuddy, such a rare find!"
The rhyming words are cute and playful and are meant to boost self esteem. I like the idea that parents can use this book to emphasize a child’s uniqueness and value as early as infancy. The Thumbuddy series stresses the idea that everybody is "thumbuddy" because each of us has an unique thumbprint, making each of us each special.
My children responded to the repeated use of Thumbuddy in different ways. My older child didn't understand the play on words. My younger child loved it when I replaced "Thumbuddy" with his name.
What I Like: This is a great cuddle-up story, especially if the parent replaces “Thumbuddy” with the child’s name.
What I Dislike: The illustrations were a bit too cartoonish and caricature-like for my taste. The thumb faces had positive adjectives written on them, such as "blessing," "loving," and "precious." Some words were written on the mother Thumbuddy, making it unclear to me if the writer meant to build up both the child and the parent.
What I Like: This is a great cuddle-up story, especially if the parent replaces “Thumbuddy” with the child’s name.
What I Dislike: The illustrations were a bit too cartoonish and caricature-like for my taste. The thumb faces had positive adjectives written on them, such as "blessing," "loving," and "precious." Some words were written on the mother Thumbuddy, making it unclear to me if the writer meant to build up both the child and the parent.
Overall Rating: Good.
Age Appeal: Infant to age four.
Age Appeal: Infant to age four.
Publisher Info: ThumbPeople Books, Inc, 2008; ISBN: 978-0-9801606-0-4; board book $8.95.
Buy it at Amazon.com for $8.95.
Buy it at Amazon.com for $8.95.
Special Info:
For more information on Thumbpeople products, including books and CD's, visit http://www.thumbpeople.com/.
Also see reviews of other Thumbuddy books on this site.
2 comments:
This book sounds cute! I think I agree with you about the adjectives on the thumb faces, though -- I think parents and kids can figure that out on their own. "What I Love About You" takes a similar theme, talking about why we love our babies -- it's very nurturing and affirming. It's part of a series of Dear Baby books by Carol Casey, and well worth a look.
Thanks for the tip! I'll check out the Dear Baby books.
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